Falling In and Out of Love
by The Fangirling Bookworm
Summary: How can he truly love her if he falls so easily in love with other women? (Disclaimer: I own nothing!)


**Falling In and Out of Love**

**Ch. I: Dinner Party**

* * *

**Salvatore House - 1864**

_Damon walked down the staircase, heading to the front door with Lilybeth on his arm. Lexi was lighting a candle in the parlor room when she heard the two, stopping them._

"_Going somewhere?" she called, walking out the room._

"_You must be the vampire I hear my brother complaining about," Damon noticed._

_Lexi mock-bowed, "That would be me. And you must be the brother who hates him."_

_Lexi walked closer to the two, Damon putting down his suitcase._

"_Hello, Alexia," Lilybeth gave a shy wave which Alexia acknowledged with a nod. "I'm - uh - hoping to heal this one like you did with me."_

"_You know the hate you're feeling towards Stefan?" Alexia turned to Damon, "Towards everyone? You think you have it under control but you don't. It will get the best of you."_

_Damon picked his suitcase back up, walking towards the door, "Help him. He needs it."_

"_I'll help him," Lexi promised. _

_Damon walked out the door alone, "Lilybeth, are you coming?"_

_Lilybeth looked at Alexia, her former ward keeper, before turning to Damon, "Yes, coming, Damon."_

* * *

**Salvatore Boarding House - Present**

Lilybeth walked up to the Salvatore boarding house rather nervously. She hadn't seen Damon since 1953 when he had come to Mystic Falls to visit a living relative and disappeared on her when she came to join him after visiting a witch about some prophecy about doppelgängers, something about Silas will return and die and blah blah blah. So when she did eventually knock - about twenty minutes -, a new face opened the door, a human face opened the door. He was a middle aged man, rejection clearly rolling off him.

"Oh, hello," she said her leather moto jacket attached to her arm as she waved at Damon's assumed living relative, "I am looking for Damon Salvatore. He's an _old_ friend of mine."

"Right, he's in here," the man said, "I'm just a friend." Then he stuck his hand out, "Alaric, Alaric Saltzman."

"Nice to meet you Alaric Saltzman," she took his hand, "Lilybeth."

Then Damon Salvatore of all people spotted her, "Lilybeth!" he called from the table where he and a blonde woman were convincing some other man to leave. "Alaric, I'll handle her." Damon walked over to her. They looked like a pair, both wearing black shirts and dark jeans. "Lilybeth, Lil_y_beth. I haven't seen you since 1953."

"I haven't seen you since 1953, Damon," she glared at him, then her face lightened up as she smiled at him. He picked her up into a hug, spinning her into the Salvatore boarding house and closing the door behind them. "God, I have missed you so much. I need a drinking buddy. There was this awesome bar in Haiti, where I caught up with some magic people. They didn't like to be called witches but they wouldn't tell me the name of their practice." Lilybeth shrugged. "Anyways, they have these amazing scotch drinks and the bartender makes an amazing Rob Roy."

"Hmm, we will have to check it out, my little Lilypad," Damon hugged her, bending down from his 5"9 physique to her short, heeled 5"5 stature. "Anyways, these are Jenna, Stefan's girlfriend's Aunt;" - They exchanged hellos quite easily, being mentally the same reckless 21 year old age - "_my_ lovely girlfriend Andie Star, local TV newcaster;" - an awkward hello - "John, Stefan's girlfriend's dad/uncle" - Lilybeth just looked confused at Damon, rather than exchanging hellos with him - "And my new drinking buddy, Alaric Saltzman, whom you've already met." The doorbell rang, "I should get that."

* * *

**New York Diner - 1953**

_"Damon Salvatore," Lilybeth purred at him, "Bad boy by day and nerd by night." She laughed at him, seeing him wear a sweater vest of all things,_

_"Lilybeth Branson," Damon remarked, calling her by her ward keeper's surname, "Good girl by day and bad girl at night." Damon said, resting his elbows on the table, looking at her entire leather attire._

_"I was wearing a poodle skirt twenty minutes ago, but you know how it is when you're feeding. I assume that explains the sweater vest?"_

_"I compelled some poor poindexter to give it to me," Damon said, indicating to the nerd by the jukebox with only a thin shirt on. "I probably could have just intimidated him into giving me the sweater but who would I be without manners?"_

_When their food and drinks arrived, Lilybeth looked to Damon through her new black bangs, which she will eventually get rid of, "So, this Joseph guy," she sipped her strawberry milkshake, "'wants _you_ to go home?"_

_"Yup, something about an emergency with Stefan," Damon took a bite of his french fry, "And you? Miss 'I-can't-come-with-my-best-friend-because-I-have-witch-things-to-do-except-I'm-not-a-stupid-witch."_

_"Okay," she pointed at him with one of his french fries she stole off his plate when he wasn't looking, "First of all, that is a horrible title and impression of me. I don't talk with a southern drawl. Second, someone said that I might have something to do with the whole doppelgängers thing, and naturally, I'm curious. I've only been around for a little over a century, I've gone to school - finally, I cannot believe Americans have been so sexist as to forbid women from attending classes outside of private tutoring -, but other than that I have literally done nothing with my life, so maybe they can help."_

_"And you absolutely promise you will meet me at the Salvatore boarding house the day after I get there?" Damon asked her._

_"Yes, Damon," she rolled her eyes, "I absolutely promise. Cross my heart and hope to die ... again."_

_Damon laughed, "Pinky promise it." He was so clingy. After Stefan had left the metaphorical and Damon had abandoned that stupid vampire who was obsessed with him, Damon was intensely focused on keeping his only friend with him for all eternity._

_Lilybeth rolled her eyes again, "Damon Salvatore, are you three years old?"_

_"Lilypad," he whined, making her roll her green eyes for a third time and getting her to concede._

* * *

**Salvatore Boarding House - Present**

Another man had joined the scene, greeting Jenna welcomingly, as Damon stalked back into the room either angry or irritated or both. Lilybeth had sensed this other man was a vampire, one older than her, the minute he stepped inside the house. Did Damon not have a human being to guard his home?

"And who are you, darling little flower," the man kissed her hand. He had a beautiful voice and a strange accent she couldn't quite place.

"Lilybeth Branson," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "And you?"

Elijah looked back to everyone else. Seeing they were all preoccupied, he grabbed Lilybeth's face, looking into her eyes, "You may remember now." Her eyes went black momentarily for a minute, then her green eyes turned back to normal. That did not happen, that has never happened.

"Who are you?" Lilybeth asked, pulling away from him. "And where am I?"

"The table is ready," Damon called after them, "Lilybeth, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, rubbing her hands against her jean covered thighs. "I'm okay ... "

"Damon, Damon Salvatore," Elijah whispered to her. This was odd. "You're in the Salvatore house. Iliya, what is wrong?"

"Iliya?" she laughed, "What kind of name is that? My name is Lilybeth Madison."

"I thought you said 'Branson'," Elijah pointed out to her as they walked back to the table.

"I - I did. My name is Lilybeth Branso," she said. "Jenna, could you um pass the ... Thanks, darling."

Damon just stared at her from across the table, _What the hell is wrong with you?_

_I don't know_, Lilybeth told him with a shrug, _Maybe I'm just nervous._

Hmm. Lilybeth Branson only gets nervous on three occasions, but this - meeting new people - was not one of them. _Alright._

Jenn, trying to break the ice, turned to Damon as she poured a glass of red wine, smirking, "I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town."

"Hmm, do tell,"Damon said with a fake smile on his face. He was there when his family had founded the land. Of course they were the founders.

Elijah jumped into the conversation, "Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."

Jenna took a sip from her wine, Hmm. Because they were witches."

"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem," Andie countered.

"Andie's a journalist. Big on facts," Damon said, though no one seemed that interested.

"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire," Elijah explained, "Could you pass the..."

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society," Jenna finally said, making everyone around the table laugh

"Why?" Lilybeth looked to her generally, curious.

"The people of this town and the Founding Families take that stuff seriously," Jenna told her.

"They even have 'Founder's Day' and Miss Mystic Falls for the daughters of the founding families," Alaric told Lilybeth. But shouldn't she have known if she had been to Mystic Falls before with Damon in 1930?

"So, why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?" Damon asked Elijah, giving a weird look to Lilybeth. She had participated in the Miss Mystic Falls pageant in 1932 with him as her escort.

"You know... a healthy historian's curiosity, of course," Elijah said almost nervously.

"Of course," Damon gave the older vampire his signature smirk.

* * *

**Salvatore Boarding House - Drinks - Present**

"I think I'll join the gentlemen upstairs," Lilybeth said, beginning to walk up the stairs but then her eyes grew black and she inhaled sharply.

"Oh, no you don't, little missy," Andie said, pulling her back down to the living room. "We ladies are going to drink coffee to sober up and have a little chit-chat."

"Yeah," Jenna said from the couch with her mug in hand, "Like what's going on with you and Damon Salvatore?"

"Nothing, we're friends," Lilybeth said before clutching her head. "Is there any aspirin in here? I'm having a major headache for some reason." She was a _vampire_, she should not be having massive migraines.

"Yeah," Andie said, "I'll go get you some."

"I think I need to lie down and have a drink," Lilybeth turned to Jenna. "Can you get me that bottle of 2010 wine in the cabinet, Jenna? Please and thank you."

"Um, yeah sure," Jenna said. "You know, maybe I'll have some too."

"You sure? Damon has a really bitter collection," Lilybeth was trying not to let Jenna get a sip of human blood and realise they were all freakishly weird.

"You're right," Jenna sighed, looking at the dark 'wine', "And besides, I'm supposed to be sobering up to drive.

"Hey, Jenna, have you ever heard the name Iliya?" Lilybeth asked Jenna before clutching her head in more pain. It felt like a witch was giving her multiple aneurysms all at once.

* * *

**England - 1492**

_"Katerina, how do you always manage to get the best out of every situation?" Iliya asked from beside her._

_"I know not of what you speak," Katerina said in a perfect English accent. After being banished from her father for having a child out of wedlock and her younger sister suffering a banishment from their father as well from being the infertile child, Katerina and Iliya had boarded a ship leading to England, where they met Trevor, a very nice man. The two girls giggled as they feigned English accents, trying to belong. "Maybe we can find husbands here and start anew."_

_Then Trevor came up to them, "My darlings."_

_"Hello," Katerina responded shortly in a perfect English accent as she turned around gently._

_Iliya, however, turned around with a loss for words. Her green eyes looked to this mysterious man, roaming all over his face as she fell in love with his appearance though he looked shocked at Katerina at the moment._

_"Iliya, Katerina," Trevor introduced their names, "may I introduce the Lord Elijah."_

_"Pleasure, my Lord," Katerina said as both sisters bowed._

* * *

**Salvatore Boarding House - Present**

The men had entered back into the dining room with the ladies. Damon looking extra frustrated, Elijah looking rather smug for some unknown reason, and Alaric and John were looking steamed off. Lilybeth was feeling better now that she had more blood in her system, but she still felt a bit woozy when she sat down so she took her black coffee with vanilla essence and AB positive blood and stood up, leaning against the table in front of the painting.

Jenna was pouring coffee, "Sorry, guys, dessert is taking longer than I thought. I usually just unwrap food."

Andie sat down with the other four (Damon, Alaric, John, and Elijah), "So... I know this is a social thing, but I... I would really love to ask you some more questions about the work that you're doing here."

"I'd love to answer," Elijah said, glancing momentarily to Lilybeth who was looking towards the doorframe for Damon. This caused Elijah to frown slightly.

"Great, that's so great," Andie smiled at him as Damon and Alaric entered the dining area from helping Jenna. Damon sat down, glaring daggers John's way, though technically the dagger would be going into Elijah (ba dum tiss) "Ric, would you do me a favor and grab the notebook out of my bag?" Alaric walked over to her bag, completely ignoring everyone else as he seethed at John.

"Elijah," Damon said, getting the older vampire's attention and leaning in towards him, "D-did John tell you he's Elena's uncle-slash-father?"

"Yes, I'm well aware of that," Elijah replied stoically.

"Of course, she hates him, so there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list," Damon glared at John.

"Well, Elena should not have lied to me in the first place, so maybe I will take the life of someone she cares about," Elijah said, causing Damon and John to look curiously at him.

"No Ric, it's in the front pocket. On the... you know what? Excuse me, guys. Sorry," Andie walked up and over to Alaric.

"What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how do you intend on killing Klaus?" John said, leaning on the table towards Elijah.

"Gentlemen, there's a few things we should probably get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Elena. I allow Elena to remain in her house living her life with her friends as she does as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take her away from you and you'll never see her again," Elijah said. "And one more thing, I'll break one bone in Elena's body if she continues to lie to me."

"Who's Iliya?" Lilybeth blurted from her corner. Elijah looked curiously at her, when he had kissed her hand. He didn't smell vampire but now he could sense the feeling very intensely. Then Andie came back with her notebook, causing Lilybeth to shut her mouth:

"Ok. My first question is when you got here to Mystic..."

Alaric came up from behind Elijah, stabbing his heart with the dagger from behind the chair. Elijah screamed, desiccating as everyone stood up shocked. Alaric pulled the dagger out of the Original vampire, placing it on the table. He turned to Damon, "Now, get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert."

"All right," Damon said, nodding his head to Lilybeth to help him. When they had gone back upstairs to grab a scotch, Damon got a call, rushing down to the cellar. He got back up to see his best friend gone. "Damn it."

* * *

**Dr. Jonas Martin's Apartment - Present**

Elijah opened the door, throwing Lilybeth onto the couch. His shirt was covered in blood from the innocent she witnessed him murder.

"What happened?" Jonas asked Elijah.

"I need you to find Elena," Elijah said angrily, fixing the cuffs of his shirt. "Now."

"Who's the girl?" Jonas asked, his back to Elijah as he worked on a locator spell.

"I don't know," Elijah told him honestly, glaring at Lilybeth as she began to glare right back at him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So I'm re-writing the chapters now cause I hope this will be better :) Tell me what you think of the revision


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